Isaiah 51:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Who are you to fear a mere mortal, the son of man who is like grass? The prophet rightly recalls the dignity of Jerusalem, likening it to a princess who fears her handmaidens. Tell me, who were you? The inquiry, 'who are you?' holds many implications: first, that the Jewish people recognized God before others; secondly, you alone were freed from error, you alone esteemed virtue, and to you have I disclosed the hidden, divine mysteries of My wisdom, as the scripture states, He hath not done this to any (other) nation, neither hath He revealed His judgments unto them (Psalms 147:9). What nation has God so chosen, or who has ever heard His voice as you have? What have you been? What appeals more to you, physical strength or intellectual wisdom? Advantages acquired from afar, or those that you experienced at home? Who are you, and why do you fear a dying man? Have I not granted you life that transcends bodily form? If not overtly, then in a hidden way I have bestowed upon you this immortal existence. For forty years, you did not cultivate the soil or harvest crops, yet you reaped the benefits. The bread from heaven was given to them; they consumed the food of angels (Psalm 77:24-25). Nothing is bestowed upon humanity without effort. What have you been, and why do you hold fear? You possessed authority over death itself. God had previously foretold the coming events and frequently spared you from disaster. He was without death—having God as his guide; he could fulfill his desires freely. Which is akin to grass. Do you observe the weakness of nature? Though it may have instigated fear within you, it is not from its strength but from your own inaction. Who fears hay? Or as if someone were to challenge us, ‘Who are you, and why do you fear the adversary? He has commanded you to tread upon the serpent; why then do you fear him? Christ Himself is with you; why do you dread the foe?

The Savior, through the proclamation of the Gospel, summoned people to repentance from sin, which comes through faith in Him, for communion with the Holy Spirit, and for the honor and glory of being His children. Yet, He laments, you, O Israel, have feared Me, disregarding and ignoring the call to life: instead, you have trembled before mortals, the sons of men who are as fleeting as the grass. Thus, you have forgotten the God who created you; the One who set the stars in the heavens and established the earth, while you dread the face of those who oppress you. Here, God rebukes the leaders of the Jewish people, who consistently resisted the glory of the Savior and attempted to diminish its significance. He performed numerous miracles, but they responded with scornful accusations against His wondrous divine acts, claiming He expelled demons by the authority of Beelzebub, the ruler of demons (Matthew 12:24). His teachings of the law often brought joy to His listeners; yet, their impiety reached such depths that they condemned those who honored Him, asserting, “He has a demon and is raving: why do you listen to Him?” (John 10:20). Therefore, they feared the treachery of the Pharisees, as the blessed Evangelist records, stating that even the rulers recognized Him as the Christ, yet chose not to confess Him due to the Pharisees (John 12:42), fearing expulsion from the community if they acknowledged Him (John 9:22). The Savior chastises the legal scholars, declaring, “Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge: you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering” (Luke 11:46, 52). Thus, He rebukes the Jews for their profound folly in rejecting Him, the living God, who with a mere word created the heavens and secured the foundations of the earth; instead, they placed greater value on the opinions of mere mortals, whose lives wither like grass. And in affirming that those who instilled in the populace this disgraceful fear and turned them away from esteem for the One who leads to salvation must face severe consequences, He added, “Where is He now who will take you away, and where is the wrath of Him who chastises?” For the anger of the scribes and Pharisees against the people was temporary, but they themselves faced ruin and were delivered unto destruction. In contrast, those who placed their faith in Christ rejoiced, having received salvation and escaped divine wrath, while their adversaries met a swift demise when all of Judea was laid waste, the temple burned, and Jerusalem and its people devastated.

If My remembrance had always resided in your heart, you would not have feared men, who will return to dust. Who is it that you have forgotten? It is God, the One who has established the heavens with exceptional strength and grounded the earth on an unwavering foundation. Your dread of your foes has persisted, and although such fear might be somewhat excusable for a brief moment, it has continued throughout your days, overshadowing the light of faith with darkness, leaving you fearful of one who believed you would be destroyed.

Now, I ask, where is the pride of your oppressors? Where is the earthly authority with which they have fiercely assailed you? My Son will soon come; He arrives, ready to trample your adversaries underfoot, paving a path for your victory and turning away hell—not to condemn those within it to destruction but to seek salvation for the redeemed. His sustenance, signifying the Gospel, is ever-present and available for those who seek nourishment from it. He also addresses the Son, promising His imminent return and stating that His sustenance is ceaseless because He is, in accordance with the perception of flesh, the Lord His God, who stirs the sea and raises its waves, allowing the pride of the persecutors to rise against His servants, only to be calmed again through the Lord’s assistance. He reveals that He has placed His words in His mouth, emphasizing that all spoken by the Son are the words of the Father, and that He has concealed Him in the shadow of His hand, so as to establish new heavens and a new earth, proclaiming to Zion—meaning the Church—you are My people. Thus, Zion is indeed the people of God.

In the interpretive context of Simmachus, this can be understood as signifying that He will come to redeem and not to destroy, indicating that hell will soon be opened but shall not perish, referencing Christ, who affirms in the fifteenth Psalm, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou let Thy Holy One see corruption” (Psalm 15:10). The translations reinforce this meaning, where it is conveyed that the Lord will place His words in the mouth of the faithful and cover him with His protective shadow, enabling him to establish the heavens and lay the foundation of the earth, announcing to Zion, “You are My people.”

The Septuagint addresses every believer's soul, which, created in God’s image and likeness, often forgets its true dignity and fears mere mortals, who can only harm the body, failing to recognize its eternal essence, thereby not echoing the words of the Psalmist: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 26:1). Similarly, it declares, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man can do to me” (Psalm 117:6-7). The nature of man’s vulnerability is evident in the Psalmist’s declaration: “I have trusted in God; I will not fear what flesh can do to me” (Psalm 55:5). Thus, it is stated: you have feared mortal beings, mere men, akin to hay, withered, since “all flesh is grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass” (Isaiah 40:6); by fearing the judgments they impose, you overlooked the fact that your defender is the Creator of heaven and earth and all the elements before you, the heavens reflecting the divine and the earth abundantly producing the seed of the Lord.

The earlier mention that “it shall not be killed in decay, nor shall His sustenance fail” is further substantiated as derived from Theodotion's text in the Hebrew. He stirs the sea and causes its waves to roar; it is declared in the Psalms, “Thou rulest the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, Thou calmest them” (Psalms 88:10). The Lord’s admonition in Jeremiah emphasizes: “Will you not fear Me?” says the Lord, “Will you not tremble at My presence, who placed the sand for the boundary of the sea, an everlasting decree that it cannot pass” (Jeremiah 5:22)? The seas stirred when the Lord's net gathered a multitude of fishes (Matthew 13:47). The Lord has placed His words in the mouth of the believer, covering him with His hand's shadow. He further instructs in the Gospel, “When they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” (Matthew 10:19-20). Additionally, He advises the righteous to “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 67:12). Thus, to Jeremiah, God touched his mouth and declared, “I have put My words in your mouth” (Jer. 1:9). Jeremiah could then sing with the Psalmist, “Put a new song in my mouth, praises to our God” (Ps. 39:4). Who accomplished all this if not the Lord and Savior, who created heaven and earth, proclaiming to Zion, “You are My people” (designated for the Church, gathered from the Gentiles)? In Hosea, He assures the faithful, saying, “I will not say to My people, ‘You are not My people,’ but they shall say, ‘You are my God’” (Hosea 2:23).

In other words: you have sided with your foes and met their aims through your fear of them, but you have neglected Me, the Creator of all, who has given you countless signs of strength. You have feared the frail and perishable human, disregarding your own dignity and failing to seek my aid.